Friday, February 11, 2011

Tax Structures, The World Around

Grappling to find a tax structure that generates adequate revenue, but also reflects social values without over burdening the economy, is a tall order for any government. As is the case here in the United States, most countries around the world surely struggle in weighing the pros and cons associated with various systems of taxation.

In New Zealand, the leader of the Labour Party is proposing adjustments to his county's tax system, that would eliminate the goods and services tax (GST) on fresh foods, among other things, and make up the revenue difference by increasing the income tax rate on the country's highest earners. The following link provides an argument against the measure and addresses some of the concepts that we've discussed in this week's class.

http://www.odt.co.nz/news/business/146059/tax-plan-would-harm-system

2 comments:

  1. I don't necessarily buy the article's argument that high-earning people would leave the country just because their taxes went up. Has a precedent been set for this in other areas? This brings up other questions for me like how much more would it cost government and businesses to administer the reduced GST on fresh foods? They make it sound impractical if the customer is saving less than $2/week.

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